Tag Archives: challenge

Believing In Myself (or My Wish From Last Week Came True)

Posted on October 6, 2014 | 2 comments

Last week in my workout recap of the week prior, I talked about the Orangetheory Monday Challenges. I was so close to the top 5 that week and I really hoped that I would make it to the top 5 for a Monday challenge soon.

Well, it happened a whole heck of a lot sooner than I expected!

This past week, the Monday challenge was how many push ups you could do in one minute. Push ups on your knees were not an option, but you could do push ups using one of the weight benches, so I chose that option.

The Monday workout prior to the challenge was a crazy one, so I thought that maybe I could do 15 or if I was lucky 20 push ups. I’m not great at push ups, but I have noticed a serious improvement in the time that I’ve been working out at Orangetheory.

There were only about 6 of us doing the challenge this past Monday and there was only one person who was able to time us. So we all started at the same time and we had to do our own counting.

As soon as the time started, I was off! I have never done push ups so fast before in my life! I was so focused on just getting them done that I got 15 done pretty quickly. I hadn’t realized how quickly until after my 15 were done, the 15 second mark was announced.

I realized that I was only 1/4 of the way done with the challenge and I really wanted to see how many I could do. So I kept going even though I felt like my arms were going to explode.

I’m sure that my push ups weren’t that pretty to look at, but I kept going. My focus slipped for a moment and I forgot what number I was at, so I went back to the last number I remembered (so I’m sure I did more than I counted but I’d rather underestimate than overestimate).

Finally, the one minute mark was called and I collapsed.

I somehow managed to do 43 push ups in a minute. I have no idea how that happened, but I know I did it because my arms were killing me.

That evening, I couldn’t really lift my arms properly, so it was pretty comical for me to try to wash my hair.

I had no idea how well I had done in the challenge. I had been told that from all the morning classes, I would have ranked #2, but there are more people who work out in the evening and I knew many of them women would try for the challenge.

On Tuesday, Orangetheory put a picture up online with the top 5 men and women for the weekly challenge.

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Yup, that’s my name listed as #5!!

I was shocked that I accomplished my goal of making it on to the list so quickly!

Of course, when I went to my Wednesday workout, I had to get a picture of me with the wall.

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Having jello arms for a couple of days was totally worth it!

I have no idea what the Monday challenge will be today, but I know that I’ll be doing my best to kick butt at it!

And who knows, maybe I’ll make it on the wall again this week!

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Challenge Winners (or OK Being A Loser)

Posted on October 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Challenge Winners (or OK Being A Loser)

This past weekend was the party for the Orangetheory weight-loss challenge. I knew how much I had lost because the weigh-in was the week before, and I was pretty sure that I didn’t win.

There was going to be a men’s and women’s winner and while I had no clue who the winner for the women would be, I had a good idea who the winner for the men would be.

There is one guy who I talk with from time to time. Sometimes we are in the same workout class, but more often he’s in the class after mine. We would check in with each other throughout the challenge and made sure that neither of us were slacking off. It also turns out that we have a mutual friend.

The day of the final weigh-in, he shared with me that he had lost over 30 pounds in the 6 weeks. In my opinion, there was no way that someone else could win.

And I was right. He was the winner for the men.

On the women’s side, until I showed up for the party, I couldn’t guess the winner. But while we were all waiting for the party to start, one of the trainers and I were talking and she brought another woman into the conversation. They were discussing her weight loss and it turned out that she had lost 17 pounds (which was 10% of her original weight).

As soon as I heard that, I knew that she would end up being the winner for the women.

There were also second and third place prizes for both men and women, but I didn’t rank in the top 3.

And you know what? I’m totally cool with that. In the 6 weeks, I had lost 9 pounds. I might have been able to lose more if I hadn’t had any setbacks (including food setbacks and health setbacks), but 9 pounds in 6 weeks is great! It’s a good pace for weight loss.

As much as I want to lose it all quickly, I’ve done that twice before. And it hasn’t ended well for me. So this time instead of the quick fix, I’m going for the happy ending.

But what I’m most proud of is that I was part of such an amazing group of people for this weight-loss challenge. I have really found my community and workout home. I thought that I had found it before, and maybe one day it will become more of a workout home for me. But this time I really feel completely comfortable with the staff and everyone who works out at Orangetheory and I feel no judgement at all.

That’s a prize that no contest can award me and I’m lucky that I got it.

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Getting Closer To The Leaderboard (or I’m Almost In The Top 5)

Posted on September 29, 2014 | Comments Off on Getting Closer To The Leaderboard (or I’m Almost In The Top 5)

Instead of focusing on my week of workouts at Orangetheory, I want to focus on what happened on Monday.

As I mentioned last week, there are now Monday challenges every Monday. And it’s my plan to do the challenge each week (I will be doing one today).

I missed the very first challenge because the trainer forgot to do the challenge in my class (it was a new thing so I’m not too upset). The second week I did the rowing challenge. And I walked in this past week with every intention of doing whatever challenge happened.

Then I found out what the challenge was.

It turns out that the challenge this past week was a treadmill challenge. You had to be at 15% incline (which is what I do when I do the “all out” segments on the treadmill) and you had to be at 6 miles per hour for the speed. And the goal was to be on the treadmill at that speed and incline as long as possible.

That’s not a reality for me.

I’ve been doing 3.1 or 3.2 miles per hour most of the time. Sometimes I can push myself to 3.3 or 3.4, but it’s tough. And as soon as I hear what the challenge was, I felt defeated. There’s no way that I can run at 6 miles an hour.

In class on Monday, we had a unique treadmill workout. The first and last segment were each 7 minutes long and we had to be at a push pace (which for walkers mean about 6% incline). For those 7 minutes, we were supposed to go as far as we could go.

The first 7 minutes I made it to .392 miles. I thought that was pretty awesome. Between the segments there was some regular interval work on the treadmill and then it was time for the next (and last) 7 minute treadmill segment.

I started at 3.1 miles an hour. I like that speed because it means if I maintain that for an hour, I can do a 5K. And my goal is to get my 5K time to an hour or less.

Then I decided to see if I could make it to .4 miles in those 7 minutes. So I decided to increase my speed every minute. I was fine up until 3.6 miles an hour. That was tough, but I felt like I was cutting it close to my goal of .4 miles.

So I decided to increase my speed every 30 seconds for the last 2 minutes. And shockingly, those last 30 seconds I was going 4 miles an hour! I can’t maintain that for very long, but I did it!

Those second 7 minutes I made it .408 miles.

I finished up the workout and while I was so proud of what I had done on the treadmill earlier, the challenge was still making me feel defeated. I joked to everyone that I will go 1 second on the challenge.

Finally, it was time for the challenge. I started to bug the trainer that it was completely unfair that there wasn’t a walking option for the challenge. After bugging him and the owner, they decided that my challenge would be 15% incline and 4 miles an hour.

The fact that I had just done 4 miles an hour on the treadmill for the first time in forever seemed to be fate.

I got it in my head that maybe I could make it a minute. So I decided that unless I fell off the treadmill, I was going to stay on there for that minute no matter what.

The first 15 seconds seemed easy. Then my legs started to feel like lead. But I was so damned determined not to quit until that one minute mark had passed.

As soon as the clock passed one minute, I thought for a moment about going more and then my hip popped out (it happens quite a bit and pretty regularly during workouts). It was clearly a sign that I had done all that I could do for that challenge.

I ended up making it 1:02. That’s passed my minute goal.

The next day, the results were posted. I didn’t make the top 5 for women, but I was only 30 seconds away. And shockingly the men did not do as well as the women. On the men’s top 5, I was tied with #5!

I tried to see the lesson in this. Obviously, I shouldn’t feel defeated until I try something. But I feel like there’s something more.

I’ve been looking at these challenges as something to do for me and not to be competitive. But both weeks I have not been that far away from making the top 5 list. If I really tried to push myself and not just do it to do it, I might actually make the list soon!

So that is my intention for the challenge today. I’m going into it with the mindset of a competitor. I want to see myself closer and closer to making it onto the top 5 list. And I know that sometime soon, I will be there.

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Doing Some Challenges (or Mondays Are Going To Be Tough)

Posted on September 22, 2014 | 4 comments

It’s been another week of workouts at Orangetheory, and this past week also marked that last week for the weight loss challenge. I had my weigh-in for the challenge yesterday and there will be a party next weekend where they will announce the male and female winner of the challenge.

Honestly, I don’t think I won. I had some setbacks over the past 6 weeks and my food has not been as good as it could have been. But the key for me is that even with all my setbacks (and some unexpected weight gain from the heat), I’m still a few pounds lower than I was when the challenge started.

This past week of workouts has been all about challenging myself.

This started with the newest thing that Orangetheory is doing: Monday Challenges. Every Monday at the end of each class there is a challenge that you can choose to participate in. I was exhausted after the Monday class, but I’m always down for a challenge.

This week, the Monday Challenge was a 500 meter row. I got off to a great start, but I overdid it. I was so tired by 300 meters and I had to take a few second break. I ended up finishing in 1:56.8, which I think it pretty amazing. My goal is to be at 30 seconds per 100 meters or less. So my time definitely fit into my goals.

They posted the challenge winners (the top 5 men and top 5 women) on Tuesday so I got to see it on Wednesday. I didn’t make it to the top 5, but I was happy to see that I was only 20 seconds away from that top 5. That’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

On Wednesday, it was another challenging workout. I always do the cardio portion of the workouts first because my hip issues seem to get worse after the weight training. So on Wednesday, I hopped onto the treadmill at the beginning of class like normal. Except this class it wasn’t going to be 30 minutes on cardio and then 30 minutes on strength. The cardio people went to strength after the warm up. Then after the first strength block, the sides switched (strength to cardio and cardio to strength).

I tried to go back to the treadmill but my hip kept catching. So after the second block of strength when we were sent back to do cardio, I tried the spin bike that they have in the workout room. I actually used it for 2 cardio blocks. It wasn’t bad, but it’s wasn’t as good as it could have been.

The pushes and all out moments in cardio are not as easy to set on the bike. And I didn’t have my spin shoes so I couldn’t clip in (there were straps to strap my feet into, but it’s not the same).

For the final cardio block, I sucked it up and used the treadmill again.

The workout week felt like it came full circle on Friday. It was a run/row day (which I love because it means less treadmill time). The first row section of the run/row was a 500 meter row.

I was a little scared to do that 500 meter row, especially in the beginning of the workout, because I knew how exhausted I was on Monday doing the challenge. So I tried to take it easy and I managed to do all 500 meters without taking a single break! It took me a little longer than 2 minutes to do it (I don’t exactly remember my time), but it’s almost more important to me to do the row without stopping than it is to do the row quickly.

I’m looking forward to the next Monday Challenge. As long as it isn’t a timed treadmill thing, I know that I can do it and have a decent chance on making it to the top people board. I guess I’ll find out what today’s challenge is when I go to workout in a few hours!

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First Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times)

Posted on September 1, 2014 | Comments Off on First Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times)

So even though my Orangetheory challenge is over, I still think I’m going to blog about my workouts occasionally (or maybe continue the tradition of blogging about my workouts on Monday?). The only thing is, now that I don’t have to post photos on social media after every class, I have no photos from any classes this past week! It’s just so much easier to leave right after class to go home and shower instead of struggling to think of a pose for a photo.

With few exceptions, I’ve been working out at the same time every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And I’ve only worked out on those days. But this week changed because life kind of took over.

This past Monday was the Primetime Emmys, and I knew I would be live-tweeting them. Since the show started at 5pm here in Los Angeles, I knew that going to my usual 4:15 class wouldn’t work. So I took the 12:15 class. That class was taught by Megan, who I had never worked with before. But JZ, who teaches the Wednesday afternoon classes I go to, happened to be working out during that class! So JZ and I worked out together during the strength section. That was pretty awesome!

Wednesday was a workout as usual during my usual time. Nothing special except that I was super sore from Monday’s workout and it seemed like all the strength exercises we had to do on Wednesday were working out the exact muscles that hurt. I struggled, but I pushed through as much as I could.

And this past Friday, I didn’t work out! Shocking, I know! I had a full morning of work and then an audition in the afternoon that I found out about on Thursday. When I called Orangetheory to move my Friday class to be later, they told me that the later classes were full and had full wait lists! This is why I sign up at least a week in advance for my classes!

But I did have some free time after my work shift on Saturday morning, so I had my Friday workout on Saturday. It felt pretty weird, but at least I got in my three workouts for the week.

What this past week proved to me is that I really am willing to find a way to get in my workouts, no matter what other scheduling issues that come up.

I know that this week will also be a little weird because of today being a holiday (there are only morning classes). But besides that, I think I will be able to make my other usual classes. And I know I’ll get in my three workouts!

After all, I’m still in the weight loss challenge and I want to win that!

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The End Of My 8 Week Challenge (or The End Is Really Just The Beginning)

Posted on August 25, 2014 | 3 comments

Last week was the end of my Orangetheory challenge. Well, it’s the end of my first Orangetheory challenge. I’m in the middle of the weight loss challenge they have going right now.

I remember the beginning of my challenge being so scared that I wouldn’t be able to finish or that I would somehow hurt myself. And I’m so happy to say that I did all 24 workouts in my challenge and I didn’t get hurt!

Monday’s workout was tough because there was a lot of lunge work. That’s a tough one for me because my hip flexors don’t always work the way that they are supposed to. Fortunately, the lunges were done while using the TRX straps, so that helps me keep my balance and takes a little pressure off of my hips when things start to hurt a lot.

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Wednesday’s workout was another killer. It had to be a killer because somehow my mind has blocked out that day! But I do remember that at the end of class, I was thinking about how much flexibility I’ve gained recently (I lost a lot of flexibility after my hip surgery), so that inspired my picture for that workout.

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Friday’s workout was a super awesome day. Not only was it marking the end of a challenge that I thought I’d never be able to do, my parents got into LA that day, so my dad decided to join me for the workout!

My dad has joined me for a couple of unique workouts. He came with me a couple of times to work out with Richard Simmons, he tried SoulCycle, and now he’s tried Orangetheory.

My dad works out pretty regularly, but he doesn’t really use a rowing machine. So he had been training on the rowing machine at the gym that he goes to to make sure he was ready for class. Of course, Friday’s class wasn’t a run/row day. There was a little bit of rowing, but not much.

My dad found the class really good and tough. There were several strength moves that he had never done before (including using the TRX straps) so he now has some new ideas for his own workouts.

It was super awesome to have my dad come to class with me. I wanted him to see what I had been doing for the last 8 weeks and I know that he likes checking out new and unique workouts. He’s not necessarily set in his ways with working out, but he is pretty traditional.

And of course, since my dad was in class with me, he had to be in my workout photo!

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Now that my first challenge is over, I have an unlimited membership to Orangetheory. I’m planning on still going every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and sticking with my usual 4:15 class unless there is a reason that I can’t be there in the evening (like tonight when I will be live-tweeting the Emmys!).

I’m not planning on adding a 4th Orangetheory class each week yet. But I am going to start using my exercise bike at home again (I was scared to use it before I was comfortable working out so often).

I really do see this as a lifestyle change. And that’s the best thing that could have come out of this challenge.

And if any of you want to come check out Orangetheory with me in LA, let me know. People can still take a free class to check it out!

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The top row of photos is 2 months ago. And the bottom is from this morning.

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Stronger And Stronger (or Week 7 Is Done!)

Posted on August 18, 2014 | 3 comments

Week 7 of my Orangetheory challenge was another week where I tested myself to see how far I could go.

First of all, I did get myself signed up for a membership so that I can continue to go 3 times a week once my challenge is over after this week. My plan is to continue with the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. That seems to be working well for me and it will fit in with my upcoming work schedule for the new day job.

To be totally honest, this past week of workouts was a bit of a blur for me. There were some run/row days that were tough and made my legs feel like jello. I tried to go faster on the treadmill, but my body wasn’t having it most of the time (I was able to push myself for a minute here and there, but not ongoing).

I continued to see how my body could do with trying to not to the modified workouts. I did burpees the right way (jumping my legs back and forward instead of stepping back and forth). I also did jump squats for the first time. Not only were they jump squats, they were unassisted (or without the TRX straps) jump squats. Those weren’t easy, but that workout only required doing 5 at a time so I managed.

I’m also picking up heavier and heavier weights. With the exception of some of the shoulder work, I’m no longer grabbing the 8 pound weights (which is what I started with). I’m now using the 10 or 12 pound weights depending on what strength move it is and how tired I’m feeling.

I’m doing better core work as well. I did some planks without shaking and did some crunches were you moved your legs and not your shoulders (I don’t remember what those were called) without having the do the modified workout.

I know that this isn’t the most interesting update about my challenge, but the fact that it isn’t interesting is what makes it interesting to me.

In the beginning, I remembered every single detail about every workout because everything was so new and weird to me. Now, it just feels like a part of my routine. I go in 3 times a week and put in my 1 hour. And during that hour, I push myself so hard that sometimes I wonder if I can make it through the workout. But I always do and I know that I’ll be back there doing the same thing again soon.

This is starting to become my new normal. Even with SoulCycle I never got this consistent. It never felt like a usual part of my day. Then, it felt like something special and unique. But to have it feel normal is so much better and makes me optimistic that this new habit of mine is something that I will continue to do for a long time.

Even though I don’t have specific stories to say about each workout, I do have my 3 photos to share with all of you.

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Getting Weighed In (or A New Orangetheory Challenge)

Posted on August 14, 2014 | 4 comments

On Sunday, after recovering from my birthday parties, I went in to Orangetheory. This time, however, I was not there to work out.

I was getting weighed in for the start of the Orangetheory Weight Loss Challenge!

I’m still in my personal 8 week Orangetheory challenge (that goes through next week), but when I found out that there was a 6 week weight loss challenge, I wanted in. And when I found out that the male and female winners get $1000, I was totally in!

Because my weight loss has been slow, I’m trying to be cautious and just lose at my 2 pounds per week usual. The goal that was set for me was 15 pounds in 6 weeks. So that’s a little more than I’ve been losing, but it gives me something to strive for.

There are about 20 other women in the challenge (and only 7 men total), so there is a lot of competition. But I’m going to try my best and hardest and maybe I’ll come out victorious!

The weigh in process on Sunday was pretty simple. I had some paperwork to fill out and then I waited my turn for the scale.

I would have totally taken a picture of the weigh in, but it was done in the bathroom so you would have seen me standing on a scale next to a toilet. Not the prettiest picture.

The scale measured our weight (obviously), our body fat percentage, and the pounds of lean muscle mass that we have. For me, I want all of those numbers to be lower. I’d like my body fat percentage to be cut in half (the trainers there think that that is a very realistic long-term goal). And I’d like to keep as much lean muscle mass as possible (right now, I have 130 pounds of lean muscle).

After weighing in, there were some before photos taken (fortunately, not in the bathroom) and a quick interview about why I signed up for the challenge.

And that was it!

The rules of the challenge are that you have to work out 3 times a week (which I already am), be a member of Orangetheory (which I will be after next week), and pay a $25 entry fee (which I was fine paying because I don’t pay for classes yet and maybe I’ll get $1000 in return). Not too tough.

While I know that the weight will play a lot into who wins, I do want to see what I can do with my body fat percentage in 6 weeks. I did a little research online and it says that it’s recommended that people lose 1-2% of their body fat in a month. So I’d like to see maybe a 2-3% drop in my body fat percentage this month.

My scale at home only does weight. I used to own a fancy scale, but it died. I wanted something cheap, so I didn’t get one with a body fat measurement on it. I know that the scales with body fat and other measurements aren’t always accurate, but they are accurate against themselves. So maybe after these 6 weeks and getting weighed in on the Orangetheory scale, I’ll look into a nicer scale than the one that I own.

I’m halfway through the first week of this challenge, so I’ve got 5 1/2 weeks left. And in my original challenge, I’m coming up on the end of week 7! Holy moly! Time did really fly by!

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My Last 3 Workouts Of Being 30 (Realizing I’m Stronger Than I Thought)

Posted on August 11, 2014 | Comments Off on My Last 3 Workouts Of Being 30 (Realizing I’m Stronger Than I Thought)

This past week was a week of celebrations for me at Orangetheory.

First of all, it marked the end of me being 30 years old! This past year has been one of the healthier years for me, but I know that this next year will be even better!

The second celebration I had at Orangetheory was related to my classes on Monday and Wednesday.

Both of those days were pretty tough workouts. They aren’t getting easier for me because I am continuing to push myself every time I’m there. I’m using heavier weights, trying to get more sets in, and making sure my form is improving every time.

One of the things that I haven’t been pushing myself on is the high-impact activities. Some of them, like jumping jacks, aren’t worth pushing myself on yet. They hurt so bad while I’m doing them and I can feel my hips getting worse as I try to do them. But there are some other higher impact things that I have started to push myself on.

For example, this week on Monday, I was able to properly do mountain climbers. Before this workout, I would step slowly with one leg and then the other while doing the mountain climbers. But on Monday, I pushed myself and realized that I could “run” while doing them. They were hard and I was totally out of breath after doing my set, but I did it!

I was pretty darn proud of myself after that class!

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On Wednesday, I got another chance to push myself again when we had to do plank jumps (or plank hops). Again, I decided to do the move full-out (instead of stepping to do the hops) and I was able to do it! Even JZ, the trainer for Wednesdays class, noticed that I was able to do that and she acknowledged my accomplishment when we chatted quickly after class.

Since I’m running low on ideas for photos after my workouts (only 6 more to go until I’m not required to do them), JZ and I decided to take a silly selfie since all my other photos were pretty normal.

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On Friday, I went to the 12:15 class for the first time. I had an appointment to get my hair done at 4pm so I couldn’t make my usual 4:15 class (more on my fun on Friday in another post). This class was taught by Bruce, who I’ve had in classes with me before but I had never taken one of his classes (he’s also made appearances in several of my post-workout photos including the one from this past Monday).

Since this was the workout closest to my birthday, I declared it my birthday class. I wanted to wear a tiara, but no matter how many pins I put in it, I couldn’t get it to stay in my hair. So I settled for a sparkly headband.

Bruce really helped to make the class awesome and special for me. When we were warming up, he pointed me out and let everyone know that I was celebrating my birthday class. He said it again during the cool down. And Bruce was so positive and encouraging during the entire workout.

It was a run/row day so I was sweating like crazy. But I loved that that is how I started my last day of being 30!

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I’ve got 2 more weeks of my initial challenge with Orangetheory. But this week I will be getting my membership paperwork done because I have no plans on stopping my workouts. I’m in such a good place with my 3 workouts a week (and to think that in the beginning I thought I couldn’t do 3 workouts a week) and the 4:15 class time will work for me even when I start my new job in a few weeks (it might affect me working in the box office, but I’m not going to worry about that yet since they won’t need me until maybe September).

I’ve also got some more exciting news about my journey with Orangetheory. Some of you who follow me on social media might have seen something about it. But I’m going to save that information until later this week!

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Default ThumbnailFirst Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times) Default ThumbnailChecking Things Off The List (or 4 Workouts In 1 Week) Default ThumbnailWeird Workout Times (or My Final Workouts Before My 5K) Default ThumbnailStronger And Stronger (or Week 7 Is Done!) Default ThumbnailBack To Back Workouts (or It’s Hell Week) Default ThumbnailSecond Week Of My Orangetheory Challenge (or I Guess I’m Tougher Than I Thought I Was)

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Checking In With My Progress (or Past The Half Way Mark)

Posted on August 4, 2014 | 3 comments

Last week marked the beginning of the second half of my Orangetheory challenge. I’ve talked about my frustration with my weight loss in the past, and it still bugs me that the weight is coming off slowly (although I know that that is much better than how I did things in the past).

Of course, after being half way done, I had to do a new set of photos to compare them to how I looked when I started.

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The top photos are from when I started and the bottom ones were from the beginning of last week.

I don’t really see a difference, but I know that I am my harshest critic. Several of my friends did tell me that they do see a changes, especially in the middle photo.

I’m trying to focus on the non-scale victories right now, because if I just rely on my scale I will be mad at myself.

As much as I would like to say that I’m in less pain now, but that’s actually the opposite. I’m in a lot of pain every day now. But that might actually be a good thing. My hip surgeon told me that the less I use my body/hips, the longer I will be able to go without needing my next surgery. So by being in more pain now, that is showing that I am working out hard and using my body way more than I used to. All 3 surgeries that I still have ahead will happen no matter what and while I do want to put them off as long as possible, I can’t avoid moving just to put off my surgeries a little longer.

Another non-scale victory comes from the people who work and train at Orangetheory. Last week, I was told how I’m looking more nimble, agile, and how all my movements are getting smoother and look easier. This proves that while my scale might not be changing my body is.

I’m still struggling with the run/row segments because the transitions are tough for me (and the step down from the treadmill is a big step), but it’s getting better. I was able to do more run/row transitions this week than last week.

I’m also getting so much better at rowing, which is something I never did before Orangetheory. I was able to row for 600 meters without stopping several times last week. That’s a lot!

My parents will be in town in a few weeks and I can’t wait to share this workout with my dad (and hopefully my mom will decide to join us too). While I know that my dad will be better at most of the workouts than I am, I still am so happy with my progress.

And being happy with my progress is one of the biggest accomplishments so far. I’m so used to feeling like the weakest and slowest in any workout scenario. And while that might still be true, I don’t care anymore. I’ve made a lot of progress and that is awesome. And while people who are new to class might not see it, there are plenty of people who are at every class with me and they see it and they have told me how awesome it is.

I am slowly no longer comparing myself to others. It still happens, but it’s way less often than even 2 weeks ago.

I’ve got 3 more weeks left in my challenge, but I already know that I will be signing up for a membership the day that my challenge is over. This is something that I’m really loving every time I’m there and I can’t image not having my 3 workouts a week at Orangetheory (maybe I can bump that up to 4 soon).

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Default ThumbnailGetting Weighed In (or A New Orangetheory Challenge) Default ThumbnailAlmost Back To Normal (or Making Progress) Default ThumbnailNot Being So Hard On Myself (or Missing A Workout Goal This Month) Default ThumbnailHalf Birthday (or Reflecting On The Past 6 Months) Default ThumbnailChecking Things Off The List (or 4 Workouts In 1 Week) Default ThumbnailProof Of My Progress (or I Am Doing Better)

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